Psylocke

Behind her smile, Elizabeth’s anger bubbled. He didn’t miss a beat, but he was lying though his teeth.

Laura didn’t know.

However he knew, he was lying to her face.

She was definitely going to have to wipe his mind… Even with unpredictable powers.

“Oh she did?” she continued the pretense, even if it made her skin crawl. Even if it made her feel sick… It only made her more intrigued as to why he was here and what he was up to.

“Laura didn’t mention you were here” she said, which was the truth, “actually, neither did Logan…” also true, technically, but Betsy hadn’t actually see him yet.

Why was he outside. That was key. Did Laura actually know he was here?..

“How’s Gabby, by the way?” she asked. A small test. If he’d never been inside the gates, he wouldn’t know who she was… If he knew about his youngest sister, she’d know that he had been inside at some point. Or at least had spoken to Laura…

She was composed, almost poised in her natural smile, but he could taste the cortisol in the air as she took in his words. The initial skip of her heart had only been suppressed, but her concerns were another story. It didn’t prove anything, but it did make him more interested. “Shh,” he teased at her question; hopefully Laura would understand, if this came back to her. And then—

He might have lost it himself when she said that name. Logan? Was she messing with him? She had to be… she was messing with him. So she was taking it there! Anger boiled up in his chest, but he stuffed it, tightening his jaw as he turned his head away thoughtfully towards the night sky until he was confident she wouldn’t one up him in this battle of wills and manipulation. He forced a smile, allowing himself to relax again into the soft layer of snow. If she thought she could play him, she had another thing coming.

“Unsure if I should be offended by that,” he offered a good-natured sort of joke, as if to a friend. The charm was on again, and dialed up to eleven. If she was testing him by tossing out Logan’s name, he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of that topic. As if she was better than him because Logan had more love for her.

Treading a fine line.

He had crossed it when he'd brought up her pregnancy. She'd fought right back by mentioning his father.

And she'd clearly hit her mark. His spike of anger was clearly evident in her mind, even if she'd missed the subtle tension in his body.

To his credit, he hid it well. But it was hard to hide from a telepath.

Elizabeth stretched out her long legs and rolled to her side, propping her head up in her hand. She offered him a small, innocent smile as she carely spoke her next sentence, "I think Logan would make a good Godfather... I've been thinking of asking him and Storm. What do you think?" Betsy could push just as hard with her words as she could with her sword.

The words slipped from Daken’s lips and Elizabeth faltered. For just a fraction of a second… But it was enough.

How on earth did he know?..

She remained in her position for a few seconds, legs crossed, back flat against the icy grass, violet eyes fixed on the stars above them as she considered her plan.

Denial? But knew. Somehow…

Defence? And let him know he had her pegged with something she didn’t want him to know.

Or pretence…

Despite the sudden spike in her heart rate she was sure that followed his revalation, pretence might just be the only option to show him he hadn’t knocked her for six.

She could always wipe the knowledge from his brain. And if he was hanging around Haven she might have to, in order to stop her secret reaching the ears of anyone else.

“Thank you” she turned to him with a smile. Betsy was just as good an actor as he was and she forced the smile to look genuine. “Did Laura tell you?” she asked, making out as if her secret were not secret at all.

There was one moment, the skip of her heart, the spike in her fear hormones, the taste of his own satisfaction — just for a moment. And then she was at ease, affirming his words with a convincing smile.

It could have been some sort of instinctual motherly protection mechanism against a perceived threat — as if he’d hurt her child. That was a possibility. Or it might be the very alarm he’d registered it as, if she was very smooth actor.

Laura didn't know.

However he knew, he was lying to her face.

She was definitely going to have to wipe his mind... Even with unpredictable powers.

"Oh she did?" she continued the pretense, even if it made her skin crawl. Even if it made her feel sick... It only made her more intrigued as to why he was here and what he was up to.

"Laura didn't mention you were here" she said, which was the truth, "actually, neither did Logan..." also true, technically, but Betsy hadn't actually see him yet.

Why was he outside. That was key. Did Laura actually know he was here?..

Elizabeth didn’t trust Daken. Not even close. But she did trust herself. She trusted herself to be able to defend herself from him… She could avoid his pheromones, the blessings of telepathy. And if he got too close, the worse thing that would happen is she’d owe Laura an apology for lobotomising her brother… He oozed confidence, but Betsy wasn’t worried.

“Telepathy is so often seen as a wonderful gift… So few see it as the burden it can be”. Ask any telepath, the time from them gaining their power to learning to have some form of control was most definitely the worst time of their life. Guaranteed. But here, out at the end of the world. It was hell for a telepath. Or at least, it had been for her. But her gift was also how she’d survived. How she’d helped others to survive…

“So, Daken… You going to tell me what you’re really doing out here?

Always he was inclined naturally to suss out where people stood as a way to use it to his advantage. Her confession of the psychic pain brought on by the state of the world and shared by of everyone that inhabited it hurt her, and thus his mind naturally went to how he could use it against her. He didn’t think it was his friend towards catching her off guard; she was too good for that. But it would certainly impact her worldly outlook. It did; he could see that. It was important to keep in mind.

She wasn’t fooled for a moment as she returned to her question. He folded his outside hand against the ground, rolling a small snowball beneath his fingers against the grass. He did like the scents of Haven. He’d lived there long enough to know what to expect; it wasn’t necessary to be here while he planned; as he wouldn’t be going in just yet, and certainly not with Betsy around. It was calming, and reassuring, as he’d know if anyone stepped away from the stronghold, allowing his senses to disperse as he explored his own thoughts when he was alone.

How on earth did he know?..

She remained in her position for a few seconds, legs crossed, back flat against the icy grass, violet eyes fixed on the stars above them as she considered her plan.

Denial? But knew. Somehow...

Defence? And let him know he had her pegged with something she didn't want him to know.

Or pretence...

Despite the sudden spike in her heart rate she was sure that followed his revalation, pretence might just be the only option to show him he hadn't knocked her for six.

She could always wipe the knowledge from his brain. And if he was hanging around Haven she might have to, in order to stop her secret reaching the ears of anyone else.

Betsy drank the glass of water in her hand and placed the empty glass down. The quicker they could get this over with, the better… 

Bobbi left and Elizabeth dropped her head. She felt stupid… So incredibly stupid. No amount of sex was worth this… She had always be so careful. But who would have thought that even now, when she often went days without food or sleep, that her body could even support a pregnancy… Betsy was angry with herself too, she had no one to blame but herself. 

Betsy allowed Bobbi to remove the ECG leads from her chest before moving to back to her feet, thankful for the clothes Storm had brought for her in place of the hospital gown. She nodded and followed Bobbi through the hospital corridors, carefully monitoring the minds of those nearby to ensure there was no one who knew her well. 

“You had this situation before?..” Betsy asked, if only to make small talk and stop her mind skimming the thoughts off the surface of the other womans mind. 

Bobbi didn’t have to be psychic to feel guilt radiating off of Betsy.  She had a feeling she knew the brand of guilt it was: the kind that comes with feeling you know better.

So when the question came, Bobbi ran her hand over the bulge of her stomach, “I thought I was doing everything right but the condoms were expired.  And then I had to tell my ex husband and then-hookup-now-boyfriend that I didn’t know whose kid I was having.”  Perhaps it was an overshare, but it was an overshare of solidarity.  She was watching Betsy for signs of faintness, ready to catch her if she was doing too much too quickly.  “I’m working on a vaccine against the infection, so it was a very inconvenient time to become pregnant.  But kids were always something I wanted and I thought I had missed my chance before.”

"I never wanted children... But I've spent more than half my life fighting to ensure Mutants don't become extinct..." this baby was most definitely a mutant. She was, her brother was, Dayle was... It could become an incredibly powerful mutant...

She followed Bobbi into the scan room. It was a mental battle to force herself to go through with this. Before the scan, this could all just be a mistake... But once the scan was done, they'd know for sure. There'd have to be a decision made. A decision Betsy would do almost anything not to have to make.

Megan smiled at the women, though looked a little nervous. She didn’t like to break the rules. But she liked Betsy, and had agreed to do her a favour. 

“No, probably not…” Elizabeth agreed. Though the though of leaving to look for Warren was more than tempting… 

They reached Megan who teleported the three of them away from Haven. Not too far, but in the direction Elizabeth had specified. She said her goodbye and disappeared again in a flash of pink light. 

“So, there’s really been no news of Jean? Kitty? Scott?..” so many friends still missing… It was sad to think about it. 

Betsy rid her mind of the thought and focused, turning in the direction of a hill; “this way” she instructed, leading the way down the slope. 

“I’m mostly just hoping they’re somewhere together.  We had three X-Squads in the field in various locations when this started, so as long as each one stuck together, I think they’ll be alright.”  That being said, Rogue had been on one of those teams.

She waved goodbye to Megan and followed Betsy down the hill.  She listened for the sounds of the undead, for signs of life out in the trees, but much closer to her, she realised she could hear an extra heartbeat that she hadn’t noticed when they were so surrounded by people.

Elizabeth led the way down a steep, mostly forgotten path, following the thoughts of those she could identify as large group of zombies nearby. She had spent so long trying not to kill them, trying to spare them in case a cure was found... But that wasn't looking likely any time soon. And she was angry... So very angry. She has watched them tear Dayle apart with no mercy. She hadn't admitted it to anyone, but it was her who had dealt the final blow. His screams of pain and terror, he had begged her to end it for him before they could, so she had. She was leading Laura back in the direction of where Dayle had died, whether these were the same group of zombies, she didn't much care.

"What? Can't a girl want a little stress relief without it being a big deal?" Betsy offered Laura a small smile over her shoulder, before pausing in her step behind a large rock.